Magnet

‘....If I cant sell the car......I’ll just hang on to it and enjoy it....’ Absolutely Kevin. ‘........Judging by the number of posts made you must have plenty of time....’ To me, time is not really an available commodity which you chose to use or not -as the case may be. It’s on the shelf at the moment, but it has a zero shelf life! Use it to the full, and if you can help someone along the way as well, then that’s a bonus. Of course, many posts can equal a greater risk of boring folks, but there you go eh!? Everything has its risks, so you post and be dammed, or not post and risk minimum responses in general. I really hope you sell the car for the price you want, to an appreciative buyer. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Steven, Sorry to put a dampener(pardon the pun) on your new toy, but please, please leave this High Pressure, pressure washer, safely in its box, if you have any respect for your car’s paintwork, and the lacquer coat in particular. You could have saved yourself some funds by simply buying a bucket, sponge and some good quality shampoo and using a hosepipe. A much more practical toy. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Geoffrey, Many, many thanks for coming back and letting the forum know the resolution to your issue. Such feedback really is invaluable, and the in depth detail makes it even more useful. Piggy back connections can be a pain - and I have ‘a thing’ about crimp connections (possibly nothing to do with this) - I just don’t trust them. Shorter than desirable spades on replacement fuses = x number of additional fuses being possible from a set length. Where do you find consistently good quality aftermarket components these days? OK things are cheap, but..... Anyway Geoffrey, you must be understandably pleased with the positive outcome. All very much justified, but remember you didn’t do it on your own - it dependent on the assistance of your good pal Percy Verance. He’s been a great help to me on many occasions. Many thanks again and kind regards, Gareth.

‘Banned!’ Oh blinking heck - ‘...passed test in 1961.....’ Nearest and dearest issue restrictions on the degree of tinkering which is allowed. Come on catch up Peter! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello? ( why are we having a spate of anonymous posters?) - Sorry! Anyway, I feel for your plight in selling your car in these very troubled times. They always say there is always a buyer for anything, but if what I read is correct, the used car market is already on its knees - and that is before any official lockdown on movements which may be enforced. What I understand is that you should be sitting down before entering your registration number on the We Buy any Car website. Such is the dramatic drop in prices since these worrying times have been announced. Yes, I know their prices are low at the best of times, but they do have a significant influence on the used car market. Of course, whatever price decrease affects your car, will also affect your proposed purchase so it’s back to the old important but often ignored ‘ cost to change’ . So it may not be all bad news. As much as we may worry about the values of our cars - if we have to sell them - it’s worth bearing in mind the concerns that used vehicle retailers must have about this year’s rapid growth and stock levels of used vans. Now there’s a worry if you are stuck with these. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello? Many thanks for the post. It seems you are just another victim of this potentially life threatening saga. If I read you post correctly - and apologies if not - you have been affected by this on three occasions. Wondered what course of action and investigation/reporting you have carried out to date? I had a boss who used to say ‘They will have to do something about this’. Never did find out who ‘They’ were, leave alone what if anything ‘they’ did about the issue, but..... Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Praveen, Thanks for coming back on this. Personally, I wouldn’t see any issue about using a LUK flywheel and a Saches pressure plate - both reputable brands. A 40k gearbox should be fine, and coupled to a complete new reputable- brand clutch, all should be well, but unfortunately it isn’t. Warped pressure plate? - already commented on, and never too old to learn, but whatever way you look at it Praveen, the problem is likely to need to be investigated by stripping, so any possible cause can only be assumption. If it were mine, I would want to have complete confidence in the dismantler’s ability to investigate and fault find this issue. Certainly one clear step ahead fromsimply stripping an old unit out and fitting a new one in. Although I can understand your frustration with this, and you would like to come up with an explanation, I think there is potential in getting too involved in the ‘whys’ before we know the route cause. Perhaps you could keep us updated Praveen. Interesting! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello ? (Sorry, but you don’t list your name). Until someone comes up with the definitive answer for you :- Special tool? Don’t know, but he wouldn’t be referring to a clutch alignment tool - would he? Could you check and let us know. It’s doubtful he is referring to this, since this would be a ‘tool’ which most most mechanics would have in their tool kit. Judder? Are you intending to replace the (dual mass?) flywheel? If not, it could be false economy. What make clutch kit are you using? Perhaps you could come back to us on all the above. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Matt, Welcome to the forum. ‘......parts...without paying main stealer prices....’. Worth looking at some of my recent posts re genuine Audi parts at discount - and mail order. Let us know what you think. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hell Mr. Newbie, Another pointer to supplement Cliff’s comments:- When you fitted the (non standard?) rear brake discs, are you absolutely sure the hub mating service was completely free from corrosion, which might result in the discs not sitting properly on the hub? Vitally important consideration, as you probably appreciate. Perhaps you could let us know. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Peter, Sorry, not sure about a link for actually doing the cambelt. Although the cambelt has just been done on the A3, I have been ‘banned’ from carrying out such jobs! - a few miles on the clock now, having passed my test in 1961, so it’s down to a neighbour free lance mechanic, with me being responsible for getting the parts. My source of genuine parts at discount:- Discount Audi Parts -Cardiff . Part of Mon Motors, who are actually Cardiff Audi. Contact is Phil ( very helpful). If have recently posted the contact details against another post. It’s glass of wine time for the vulnerable now, but just let me know is you fail to find them. They do mail order, and you can pay via. Paypal. Don’t be put off by their website just listing accessories - e mail Phil with your requirements. Good luck and kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Vincent, I have suggested possible sources for parts for older cars in fairly recent threads. Kind regards, Gareth.

Apologies Peter for throwing this one in, but I would never (in caps) advocate fitting an aftermarket pump, since they can be of dubious quality. In fact if push came to shove, I would prefer to take a chance and leave the existing one there if genuine VAG, rather than fitting an aftermarket one. Genuine VAG pumps should be available at discount for under £60ish, so why compromise the whole critical assembly for an extra £30? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Many thanks for coming back. Clutching at straws - possibly fuel pump relay symptoms?? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Keith, I would be worth registering your ‘wants’ with on-line car breaker links such as Partsfinder etc. - there are more. Any linked breakers who have what you want will then contact you. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Peter, Are you talking £30 for a genuine VAG water pump? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sean, Glad you are now sorted, and apologies for the ‘not returned to the forum’ bit. I think there is a lesson to be learnt here:- From what you say, the ‘Last visited the forum’ date is inaccurate, insofar as it does not give a true representation of when a forum member signs on, but simply indicates when an action/response is made. If so, this paints an unfair picture in terms of the poster’s interest once he has posted. I will take this up with the good folks at ‘Admin’. From the poster’s point of view, (not applicable in your case) it may be advisable to modify the Forum Rules to advise posters on the good form of thanking contributors for their comments - so the forum knows the poster has returned. Enjoy the car. Kind regards Gareth.

Hello Geoffrey, Welcome to the forum. Sorry, but I cannot give you an answer to you query. However, a common trouble spot with such issues are the connectors under the seats (dust etc.). Might be worth wiggling and spraying these, assuming you haven’t already done so. Perhaps you could let the forum know whether that has solved it or not, and particularly if you get advice elsewhere on where the control unit lives. Kind regards, Gareth.

Apologies fellow posters for boring you with the reply. Missed the fact that the ‘New poster’ joined, posted his question and never returned to the forum from the day he joined. I should have noticed.

Hello Peter, Many thanks for your interest. Unfortunately, if you study this forum - in isolation - I think you will conclude that this lack of response and feedback is not at all unusual, and dare I say, is normal! It’s a sad state of affairs, but posters can appear on here, and it would seem not even revisit the forum to view any help offered, leave alone be bothered to update the forum on their progress or lack of it. Is this forum worse than others in this respect? I’m my (limited to 4 other forums) experience, this one does not rank well in that respect. Not pleasing to report, and based on rather a small sample, but suffice it to say, it could be a lot better. Having said that, no doubt there are forums which are much worse than this one in that respect. This medium of communication is such an asset, but it is open to abuse from folks who might not have anything better to do for a brief window in their life - so, why not stick something on that forum!? Perhaps someone needs to do some stats. and come up with some figures on average length of activity on the forum, and feedback on issued raised. Should be interesting. Anyway Peter, as we say, many thanks again for your interest. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Praveen, Apologies, and I can understand your disappointment in things not being what you would now want them to be. To cut to the chase:- ‘..warped pressure plate...’ ? Never really come across that, but quite simply, there would be no way of determining that without strip down. Faulty DMF after 25K miles? Possible, dependent on its quality (make). Of course, you did the right thing in replacing the clutch, and I would not argue about the normal quality of Sachs, and again, the decision not to replace a 25K DMF would also have been sound. Pessimistic, but it seems this has to be stripped again, and not to replace the DMF would be unsound. Resurfacing DMFs? Something new to me, but....always learning! If this were mine Praveen, I would be treating this carefully while I do some homework on recommended (uprated?) clutch and DMF assemblies, and then move forward from there. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Praveen, Sachs should be Ok, although I prefer LUK. From your description, I too could be excused for coming to a conclusion that your driving style would come under the heading of ‘enthusiastic’, and likely to put a greater than normal strain on the transmission. From what you say, I would have thought not changing the DMF would be regrettable - as would have been not investigating the possibility of an uprated or competition clutch assembly. Interesting comments on ‘flooring it’ on some country roads. In these parts, local farmers tend to break down?? in their tractors on some bends when they get wind of such things! so...... Hopefully you will get some more meaningful advice on here, but all I can suggest (which isn’t much) is to talk nicely to your wallet before extracting funds for a new DMF and an uprated clutch. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Praveen, ’.....replaced the clutch...’ Make of parts used? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Sean, Just a few comments:- Is this NI or south? Ref. ‘......fresh not/MOT...’ I understand NI MOTs have been suspended for some time, due to issues with replacing faulty lifts at the official MOT testing locations, so is above statement actually seen to be true, or do you mean it is currently subject to a testing exemption until the lifts are replaced? If south, I’m not sure if the same applies there. Dependent on engine - cambelt or chain? If belt, has it been changed (with evidence to prove)? Chains and tensioners also wear. Mileage would suggest this has been a company car. OK in terms of service history, but quite likely not to have had the same care lavished on it as (some) private owners would extend to it. Can you gain information on its previous ownership? If so, I would certainly check there, since there will be far more ‘history’ there than you will find in any service book. Can we take it that the car isn’t being sold by an Audi main dealer? Generally would not be in mainland UK due to the higher than average mileage. Hope some of the above may help you to consider your interest. One final point I would make is that overall condition is more important than mileage. You are likely to encounter low mileage examples which have not been well cared for - and of course higher mileage ones which haven’t been either. Worth bearing gain mind however that higher than average mileage will of course reduce the selling price, both now and in the future. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, Yes, website does seem to be biased to accessories etc. , but they do offer discounts on (all?) parts. Contact is Phil:- [email protected] Tel. no. 029 20 547568, although I often have difficulty in getting an answer. Main switchboard no. 029 20 547555 (I think) but e-mail your requirements and reg. no. is probably best. ‘Taking dog for walk’ ... I understand some ‘enterprising’ dog owners in Spain are renting out their dogs to those wanting to justify being out and about! Kind regards, Gareth.